You’d be forgiven for thinking digging up peat to grow plants is already illegal. After all, the Scottish Government announced a ban back in 2021: “We will… consult on a ban on the sale of peat-related gardening products as part of our commitment to phase out the use of peat in horticulture,” it pledged.
Yet five years later about 1000 hectares of prime Scottish peatland is still being systematically dug out each year to feed an apparently insatiable appetite for horticultural peat.
That is a tragedy for the unique biodiversity which inhabited those peatlands. And it’s ruining one of our best defences against climate change: peatlands are nature’s carbon capture systems, locking away 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon in the UK. Extraction also destroys a healthy peatland’s capacity to act as a buffer against flooding and wildfires.
Legislation to end the commercial exploitation of Scotland’s peatlands is essential if we’re to stop this industrial vandalism. But what started out as a clear and commendable goal has become snarled up in an unholy tangle of post-Brexit trade legislation, political instability, and understandable business apprehension about the biggest system change the industry has ever faced.
The horticulture industry has made great strides on its own, more than halving the use of peat to 760,000m3 a year in 2023 (still enough to fill over 300 Olympic-sized swimming pools). But progress has almost ground to a halt in the face of government inaction on legislation. With no clarity as to when, how or whether to invest in a peat-free future. It’s no wonder most are choosing to stick to what’s familiar till things are clearer.
The Scottish Government has repeatedly restated its commitment to legislation: Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie MSP told the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee in December “we are absolutely committed to progressing with an effective ban on the sale of peat for horticulture in Scotland.”
Minister Fairlie also played a key role in agreeing a joint approach to legislation for a peat ban in February this year, so the ban will take effect in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England simultaneously. This neatly sidesteps difficulties caused by post-Brexit internal trade legislation, which has effectively paralysed devolved nations’ ability to act unilaterally.
But progress now depends on the UK Government finding Parliamentary time to introduce the legislation, and it’s made no commitment to do so. Nor has it outlined a timeframe, or even indicated when legislation might be likely. So the whole process remains stalled, with devolved governments left unable to deliver their own policy pledges and the horticulture industry in limbo.
Peat use tends to go unnoticed by the public: there’s little mention on labels, and the black, scarred deserts left by peat extraction are generally in remote areas, out of sight, so not many ever see the sheer scale of the damage done by the peat trade. It’s easy for politicians, retailers and growers to mistake absence of information for lack of concern. But while politicians prevaricate our best, most efficient carbon sinks and unique biodiversity hotspots are disappearing, one JCB bucket load at a time: and we won’t know what we’ve lost till it’s gone.
The Peat-free Partnership is currently running a campaign to raise awareness of ‘hidden’ peat used to grow store cupboard staple foods like mushrooms, lettuces, blueberries and potatoes. We’re asking supermarkets to tell us what they’re doing to reduce peat in supply chains and help us all enjoy peat-free homes. Find out more at peatfreepartnership.org.uk.